Expression pattern of UNC5H3 during early development of mesencephalon und cerebellum in chicken

The Netrin receptor Uncoordinated-5 receptor C (UNC5C) or UNC5HA has been shown to regulate cell migration in cerebellum and cortex, to control the guidance of the axons in the developing corticospinal tract and to act as a dependence receptor in apoptosis in mouse and rat. We have examined the distribution of UNC5H3 using whole-mount mRNA in situ hybridisation in the embryonic chick, concentrating on its early expression in the mesencephalic/metencephalic region in relation to known ligands, NETRIN1 and NETRIN2. From E2 (embryonic day 2), while the latter are confined to the ventral midline, UNC5H3 is expressed exclusively at the dorsal midline from the diencephalon caudally. Later in development, UNC5H3 is maintained in the rhombic lip (E5 onwards) and subsequently expressed in its putative derivatives; cerebellar granule cells and nuclei within the avian auditory hindbrain complex and the inferior and superior olive.